Witch
A witch is a person who is born with the power to affect change by magical means (Witchcraft). While many witches are the self-proclaimed "Keepers of the Balance," other witches have been known to work against the Balance and use their power for personal gain. The Balance of Nature The Balance of Nature is a spiritual belief system based around the observance of the Earth and reverence of Mother Nature. The goal of many witches is to honor the design of nature and to maintain balance within the natural world. The balance of nature is intimately tied to one's spiritual relationship with the Earth, and the idea that all living things (e.g. animals, humans, plants, etc.) are considered sacred, as they are all different aspects of nature. Contemporary witches would also agree that using modern ceremonies, rituals and shamanic practices is the best way to attune themselves with the natural rhythms of the universe in their efforts to obtain guidance and knowledge from wiser known witches called "The Spirits." However, according to Gloria, who referred to herself as "old-school voodoo," it is implied that not all witches follow this belief system, and have the free will to choose how they wish to practice their power. History The origin of witchcraft remains unknown, however, it is known that witches have existed for many centuries passing down their knowledge and skills through generations of family lines. Contrary to popular belief, witches do not receive their powers from demons, nor do they worship the devil. Instead, witches consider themselves "the Servants of Nature," as they make it their duty to maintain balance within the world. Magic Magic is a practice of witchcraft that encompasses many different types of activities including astrology, divination, spell casting, and spirit communication. It includes the practices of many cultures, nations and religions as well as many books and writings from ancient times. Depending upon the individual, some witches practice their power by certain belief systems, such as Shamanism, Voodoo, Wicca, or any number of other magical practices from countries and cultures all around the world. Although the majority of traditional witches are commonly portrayed as being kind and selfless humans who use their powers to maintain balance within the world, in the case of Esther and Qetsiyah, it has been proven that some witches are independent thinkers who may go against the Balance of Nature by practicing their powers for dark and sinister deeds. Powers and Abilities Basic Powers The basic powers of every witch include: *'Channeling:' The power to invoke extra forms of energy by focusing on external forces. *'Potion Brewing:' The power to brew and concoct potions, remedies and elixirs that have supernatural properties. *'Spell Casting:' The power to change and control events through the use of incantations and more. Other Powers *'Divination:' The power to divine future, past, and present events based off extrasensory perception. **'Clairvoyance:' The power to divine future, past or present events through instinctive knowledge. **'Intuition:' The power to divine future, past or present events through the use of instinctive knowledge. **'Premonitions:' The power to divine future, past or present events through the observation and study of dreams. **'Psychometry:' The power to divine future, past or present events through contact with or proximity to a certain object or person. *'Elemental Control': The power to control and manipulate the elements of air, earth, fire, and water. *'Pain Infliction:' The power to create excruciating migraines through supernatural means. *'Telekinesis:' The power to move objects and persons through mental influence. Spells and Rituals One of the defining characteristics of a witch is their ability to cast spells; a "spell" being the word used to signify the means employed to carry out a magical action. A spell could consist of a ritual action, a set of words, a verse, or any combination of these. For reasons unknown, the majority of spells used by practitioners of Spirit Magic and/or Traditional Magic are spoken in an ancient language similar to Latin. However, witches who practice other forms of magic have been known to use spells in different languages; for example, the French Quarter witches of New Orleans performs many of their spells in language similar to French Creole, while the Travelers typically perform their spells in a language similar to Czech. However, the ancient witches Dahlia and Freya Mikaelson have been known to perform spells using a language similar to Old Norse. Tools *'Amulets:' An object that is used to protect its wearer from harm. * Athames: A ceremonial dagger with a double-edged blade that is commonly used to direct energy. * Candles: A block of solid wax with an embedded wick that is commonly lit to to amplify a witch’s spell. * Cauldrons: A large metal pot that is commonly used to hold the ingredients for elixirs and potions. * Grimoires: A family journal is documented with magical recipes, rituals, and spells, and can also be used as a Talisman. *'Herbs:' Various flora used as ingredients to be incorporated into spells as binding agents *'Stones:' Various minerals and ores used to boost or bind a witch's spell. *'Symbols:' Seals drawn or written used as physical representations of spells. *'Talismans:' An object that is used to magnify a witch's power and or represent them supernaturally. Weaknesses *'Disbelief:' The act of denying or disbelieving in one's potential could cause a witch to inadvertently suppress their magical power. * Distraction: Denying a witch from concentrating or giving full attention to their spells, may render them ineffective. *'Fear:' The condition or feeling of being afraid may prevent a witch from properly accessing their powers. *'Herbs:' Ingestion of certain herbs can cause a witch to lose consciousness and prevent them from using magic for a undetermined amount of time. The Lobelia flower prevents concentration and the practice of magic and can be used to weaken a witch as one would weaken a vampire with vervain. * Magic: Witches are still susceptible to the powers of witchcraft. This is inclusive of mystical objects such as the Papa Tunde's Blade, and Dark Objects. A siphoner can siphon the magic from a witch where prolong exposure may lead to death. *'Mortality:' Despite their mystical attributes, witches are still human and share many of the same weaknesses as non-supernatural beings (e.g. age, decapitation, disease, heart-failure, suffocation, snapped neck, etc.) *'Overexertion:' The excessive use of magic could lead to disorientation, nose bleeds, unconsciousness, and if taken to the extreme, death. Relationships Nature The relationship between Nature and the witches is a very deep and spiritual connection. While the majority of witches seem to respect Nature with just as much commitment and reverence as religious factions do about their churches or mosques, it has been proven that not all witches share this belief and have made malevolent acts against the Balance of Nature. Witches The relationship between witches and the witchcraft community is generally a positive relationship where the witches not only help and protect each other, but often treat one another as members of an extended family. However, while the majority of witches feel it is there duty to help their fellow man, it has been proven that some witches may disregard this belief and turn against their own people if it comes to it. Humans The relationship between humans and witches is generally a positive relationship, although this was not always the case. Throughout the past, more than half of the human population lived in fear of the supernatural community. This fear caused many of the human parents to teach their children to hate and persecute all creatures who were different from them, especially witches. This eventually lead to some of the world's most infamous witch trials that massacred hundreds (possibly thousands) of witches. While it has been implied that more than half of those who were accused were entirely innocent, according to Elijah Mikaelson, many of those who were killed in Mystic Falls were true witches. Throughout the centuries, it appears that the belief in occult has dramatically declined to the point where Sheila Bennett suggested that many humans like to poke fun at witchcraft, a behavior many witches encourage to ensure their anonymity to the human world and allow them to quietly practice their craft in private. Siphoners The relationship between Siphoners and witches is a negative one. Witches see Siphoners as abominations of Nature just like vampires. All known Siphoners have originated from the Gemini Coven, and it has even been speculated that their existence is a magical side-effect of the coven's Merge ceremony used to determine their new leaders. Six Siphoners were cast out of the Gemini Coven sometime between 1858 and 1903, and during their exile, they ran into the Ripper vampire Lillian Salvatore, who turned them into the first (and possibly the only) true witch-vampire hybrids who could keep their ability to siphon magic even after their transformations. With their new-found power, the seven planned to exact revenge against the Gemini coven in 1903 but the Gemini coven sent the hybrids and Lily into a prison world. In 1972, another Siphoner, Malachai Parker, was born into the Gemini Coven. Since he had a twin sister, Josette, it was possible for either twin to become the leader of the coven depending on who survived the Merge ceremony. However, since Kai was still viewed as an abomination by the coven, including his parents, he began to distance himself from his family. Kai's parents saw that Kai was not fit to be the leader of the Gemini Coven, but also knew that if he were to Merge with Jo, his Siphoner nature would allow him to beat her, killing her and winning leadership of the coven. To combat this, their parents continued to have children until they had another set of twins. In 1994, Kai lashed out and killed a majority of his siblings just to get to kill the three-year-old twins Luke and Liv to ensure he could become the leader of the Gemini. Like the other Siphoners, Kai was sent into a prison world as a punishment for his crimes. When he finally released himself from both prison worlds, he was so angry at his family that he had Lily Salvatore feed him her vampire blood before he killed himself, killing everyone in the Gemini Coven in the process. The Spirits The relationship between the Spirits and the witches was more of a political relationship than a spiritual one. The Spirits were highly involved in the activities of witches and often communed with them during their rituals and spells. The Spirits were known to have created the laws on witchcraft and distributed punishments to any witch who disobeyed their rules. Since the collapse of the Other Side, all relationships between the Spirits and the witches have become extinct. However, a faction of witches in New Orleans are known to commune with a subsection of spiritual witches known as "The Ancestors." The Ancestors The relationship between the Ancestors and New Orleans witches is a political one more than a spiritual one. They are seem to be a near divine pantheon to the living witches of New Orleans; the orders of the Ancestors are treated as divine edicts that must be obeyed. They are the power source of all New Orleans covens. The relationship between the Ancestors and the New Orleans witches varies from witch to witch. While some witches, such as the Elders, have a deep and powerful reverence for the Ancestors, other witches, such as Davina Claire have had a negative relationship with the Ancestors and view both their ethics and their political agendas as being corrupt and sinister. Nevertheless, as the Regent of the nine covens based in New Orleans, Vincent has full access to the power of the Ancestors and may call upon their for assistance whenever need be. Once a witch has died, they are consecrated, and the magic in their bones, and their spirit, are added to the ancestral power. While this restricts the witches, both living and dead, to New Orleans, it gives the coven the power, and the knowledge, of hundreds upon hundreds of witches. However, every three hundred years, the connection between the living witches, and the dead ones, begins to wane. In order to rebuild the connection, The Harvest Ritual must be performed. The Travelers The relationship between the Travelers and the witches is an entirely negative relationship that dates back over two thousand years. During the Archaic period in Greece, the witches of the Greek community originally lived in blissful harmony with one another until a powerful witch named Qetsiyah created an immortality spell. This controversial act caused the witches to divide into two groups: conventional and unconventional. The conventional witches saw the immortality spell as a violation of the natural law that all living creatures must die. These witches sought to border the limitations of magic by creating religious commandments that every witch should adhere. However, a subgroup of witches who held unconventional beliefs about magic saw the immortality spell as a revelation of divine potential and flouted the testaments of their peers. These differences of opinion created a rift between the witches that has lasted for more than two millennia and caused the witches to curse the Travelers with a spell that cut them off from traditional magic, barring them from their connection to Nature. Vampires The relationship between the vampires and the witches is a complicated one that is more often negative than positive. This is mainly due to the idea that since vampires were created from dark magic and flout the natural design that all living creatures must die. Nevertheless, some witches, such Genevieve or Davina, are free-thinkers who have not only aided vampires, but have befriended them. Werewolves The relationship between werewolves and witches is a neutral to negative relationship. Werewolves and witches have been shown to be at odds more than allies. Apparently the two species did once have a strong relationship with one another, however this was ruined with the inception of the vampires. However, witches and werewolves have been known to ally themselves with each other against their common enemy (the vampires), though these alliances are typically short-lived due to werewolves not wanting to be controlled. Notable Witches Trivia *According to Abby Bennett Wilson, all magic is monitored by Nature and has consequential effects. She explained this to her daughter, Bonnie Bennett, when she informed her of how she always dreamed of a normal life and how after she defeated an Original vampire named Mikael, she made the decision to abandon her family in order to live the life she so desperately desired outside of Mystic Falls. As punishment for deserting her lineage, Abby said that it was Nature (not the Spirits) that slowly took away her magic until she was completely powerless. *According to Bonnie Bennett, all witches have a spiritual connection to the elements of the Earth and the forces of Nature. Since most witches derive their magic from Nature, Bonnie explained how witches can literally feel the essence of life itself. *According to Emily Bennett, vampirism was an evil curse created from Dark Magic. She explained how some humans (such as Stefan Salvatore) are unfit to become vampires due to their gentle nature. Since vampirism is known to enhance the characteristics and magnify the emotions of a person, humans who are naturally benevolent will become even more benevolent as a vampire. However, since the basic nature of a vampire is to kill, many kindhearted vampires struggle to fight their urges to murder and more often than not, fall off the wagon by cutting off their humanity and going on a killing spree. These vampires become known as "Rippers." *According to Esther Mikaelson, the creation of the Original vampires was an accident as she never intended to turn her family into monsters, but merely to protect them from harm. After the death of her youngest son, Henrik, Esther and her husband, Mikael, feared the power of the werewolves and wanted to exceed them in superiority. With the support of her husband, Esther created a spell that would not only grant her family immortality, but would also make them faster and stronger than the wolves. Despite the countless warnings given by her mentor, Ayana, Esther used Dark Magic to successfully enact the spell, not knowing that violent behavior and an insatiable thirst for blood would become permanent side-effects. *According to Sheila Bennett, the Spirits are responsible for creating the laws on magic. Contrary to her granddaughter, Bonnie Bennett, Sheila has presumably always practiced Spirit Magic whereas Bonnie originally practiced Traditional Magic. Sheila hinted that she practiced Spirit Magic when she first met Damon Salvatore, whom she immediately disliked. When Damon asked how Sheila could hate him without even knowing him, Sheila informed Damon how the Spirits "talked" to her, and told her that he was an enemy of the Bennett family and discouraged her from trusting him. One year after her death, when Bonnie performed a manifestation spell which allowed the supernatural spirits of Mystic Falls to materialize, Sheila confirmed that the Spirits were responsible for creating the rules on witchcraft. *Hope Mikaelson is an active witch (from her grandmother, Esther) with an inactive werewolf gene (from her mother, Hayley Marshall), with a constant flow of vampire blood in her body (from her father, Klaus Mikaelson). *While the Bennett Family was said to have migrated to Mystic Falls from Salem, Massachusetts, it was revealed that the Bennett family originated Britain and migrated to Mystic Falls over a thousand years ago along with the Mikaelson Family. *While the term "warlock" was originally used to differentiate the male witches from the female witches, it appears that "witch" is a gender-neutral term that applies to men and women. Luka Martin and Papa Tunde are the only characters that have been referred to as warlocks. * A subsection witches known as Siphoners are the only witches who have the potential to be turned into vampire-witch hybrids as they keep their ability to practice magic after being turned into vampires as a result of their siphoning ability. ** As hybrids, they can draw upon their vampirism as an endless source of power. **This is in contradictory to what was previously shown however, as all witches have the ability to gain power from external sources, yet none of those witches turned vampires had the ability to do so. ***However, the fact that these witches also possessed their own power in addition to their ability to channel magic from other sources is why they were unable to keep their ability to practice magic following their transformations. Siphoners, however, do not possess their own magic, and as a result, fall into a loophole of Nature's laws. *Of the many witches shown throughout both series, only three have been explicitly stated to be among the most powerful in history: Qetsiyah, Dahlia, and Esther. However, no official hierarchy has been made among these three. **However, executive producer Michael Narducci has stated that Dahlia is "the most powerful thing we've ever seen in this universe." http://collider.com/the-originals-michael-narducci-talks-powerful-moments-in-tonights-episode/ *Bennett Witches are well-known and respected in the witch community. Considered one of the most powerful lineages of magic, many powerful spells have been seen to be linked to the blood of a Bennett witch, requiring a Bennett witch to successfully perform them. *Practitioners of Ancestral Magic can be stripped from The Ancestors if their Coven shuns them. **Also, as it was revealed by Davina Claire if a witch tries to murder the Regent they shall be hanged as punishment. *While the ability to have premonitions seems to be an ability possessed by all witches, for the vast majority, it appears to be an involuntary occurrence. **There are a subgroup of witches known as seers who have the ability to do so voluntarily, however there have only been two seen on either show, and they are implied to be incredibly rare. They are Alexis and Ariane. References Gallery TheTriangleIsComplete.png SilasFire1.png BlueFire3.png Grams_and_Bonnie.jpg BonnieDevice.png Bonnie_throw_Damon,_1.PNG Bonnie_telekinesis.png Bonniebootle.jpg 5gz042bv.jpg A5x3a5.jpg pentagram-witches-ritual.jpg WItchEs.jpg Tools QetsiyahSpells2.png|Candles Grimoire6.png|Grimoire Athame1.png|Athame Bennettalisman2336.png|Amulet TalisFreya5.png|Talisman Garden Herb2.png|Herb Black Kyanite2.png|Black Kyanite Ore Mind breach spell.png|Symbol Aurora2.png|Celestial Event See Also * List of Witches - a complete list of all witches that have appeared in the series. Category:Species Category:Supernatural Category:Witches Category:Witchcraft Category:Witch Covens